Verizon Droid makes a strong first week showing

A quarter of a million people picked up Droid phones last week, according to one industry tracking firm. That's good news for Verizon Wireless, good news for Motorola, and good news for Droid aficionados the world over.

Maybe it wasn't the iPhone-obliterating launch that some Droid-loving pundits predicted. But according to one media tracking firm, more than 250,000 people picked up a Droid handset last week – a major-league kick-off, no matter which way you slice it.

First, a recap: On Friday, Nov. 6, Verizon Wireless rolled out the Droid, a smartphone manufactured by Motorola and powered by Google's Android operating system. Verizon went heavy on the Droid hype in the days leading up to the launch, billing the Android-equippedDroid as next-generation "stealth" technology.

On Droid launch day, Verizon went so far as to unveil a plus-sized marketing gimmick – a promotion allowing New Yorkers to control two of Times Square's largest digital billboards using only voice commands. So how did the Droid stack up? Pretty well, actually.